Southwest Airlines agreed to buy AirTran this week for $1.4 billion. When the combination is complete, fliers especially those used to AirTran will notice plenty of changes, from the way they book to the way they board.

Despite traveling 415 miles, Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) made itself at home Saturday in the first USA TODAY Super 25 Massey Challenge. The Ironmen, who finished last season as the top team in the Super 25 rankings and are No. 16 this season, played football that Woody Hayes would recognize. Since the surface was Field Turf, the typical play was three yards and clouds of rubber pellets, not dust. Senior running back Paul Canevari carried 26 times for 265 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-6 defeat of St. Ignatius (Cleveland).

On a cool August afternoon, George Wilson took the time to walk the talk. This wasn't about his exulted status as an NFL player, his role as a captain for the Buffalo Bills, or an appearance in a Mary J. Blige music video earlier this year.

It's a jungle out there. Pondering who might be having the toughest 2010, any number of candidates come to mind.Cleveland fans, of course. They watched their basketball superstar jilt them in prime time, the Indians are 20 games out of first place, and goodness knows what the Browns might do.

The economy continued to grow modestly in recent weeks across most of the country, but activity slowed or was unchanged in four of 12 regions, the Federal Reserve said in a report Wednesday that underscored that the recovery has lost some steam.